Patentability of Laws of Nature

This post was first published on 2nd September, 2014.   Today we will discuss a case where a patent was rejected based on the patent ineligible subject matter. Mayo Collaborative Services (Appellants) and Prometheus Laboratories (Respondents) Patents in Dispute: US 6,355,623 and US 6,680,302 Case: Prometheus had an exclusive license over these patents and Mayo was using diagnostic kits based on these patents from Prometheus until 2004 after which Mayo developed its own diagnostic tests for the same purpose. Prometheus sued Mayo for infringement at the District Court in 2004. The claims of the patents were directed to a method of treating a patient with auto-immune gastrointestinal disorder by determining the...